Clues link Distomo robbers to fugitive Palaiokostas

The gun that killed a 39-year-old police officer, in a bank robbery in the area of Cholargos in Attica, in April 2008, had also been used in two armed robberies in 2006, at the areas of Pylaia in Thessaloniki and Moschato in Attica.

According to high ranking officials of the police, the perpetrators had stolen the gun from the bank manager. The gun was later found in fugitive and terrorist Vasilis Palaiokostas' possession at the hideout, where he kept businessman Giorgos Mylonas as a hostage, in 2008.

According to the Police, one of the perpetrators in the recent bank robbery in Distomo was Giorgos Petrakos, the 35-year-old terrorist who is also wanted by police. This means that the previous robberies and the hostage incident is linked to the same perpetrators of the Distomo robbery.

Moreover, the Renault Scenic car that had been stolen by Giorgos Petrakakos on August 31, 2007 from Giorgos Mylonas' house in Analipsi of Thessaloniki, was found in the possession of the terrorist organization “Revolutionary Struggle”. A different car- also belonging to the organization- had been used at the attempted robbery of the money transfer at Epanomi, in Thessaloniki and the hostage incident of Mylonas.

Added to all the above, one or more of the perpetrators in Distomo had been involved in the armed robbery of Cholargos bank branch, since his DNA found at the scene matches the DNA sample of the jockey hat found inside the boat the Distomo perpetrators used to escape arrest.